


The Thundrous Rose of Alexandria

by Baknami



Category: Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia, Final Fantasy IX
Genre: Character Interaction, Dissidia Nonsense, Fluff, Gen, Minor Action
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 19:12:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19730029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baknami/pseuds/Baknami
Summary: Zidane and Garnet find evidence that a familiar face has been called to the world they've been trapped within, but the question remains: Was General Beatrix of Alexandria called by Materia, or Spiritus...?





	The Thundrous Rose of Alexandria

**Author's Note:**

> WOOPWOOP BEATRIX IS OUT IN OPERA OMNIA RAISE THE ROOOOOOOOF!!!
> 
> So here's something super short to celebrate it.
> 
> It's not exactly how the event goes in the game but creative liberties and all that, plus I wanted to add a little bit of Freya, who didn't get to appear in the event. :( Also I made sure not to include characters who have only appeared in JP so far in the tags. This is technically JP timeline compliant, so if you're anal about spoilers regarding characters who join further down the road, I guess you can wait a year for the Beatrix event to be re-released in GL :V
> 
> I'm sorry, I only went over it once after the initial draft. I wanted to release it on the day that it was released but whoops I'm three hours late I'm bad at this, oh well.
> 
> Hope you enjoy more FF dudes talking a bunch I guess, because that's all it is. :V

“Yep, this is her handiwork, definitely,” Zidane murmured as he checked over the dragon's sword wound. He looked up at Garnet with a cocked brow. “You know what that means, right?”

“Don't know who you're talking about,” Locke began as Zidane stood, “but whoever could take down a dragon of that size on their own is a definite boon if we find her, right? What's the problem?”

“The _problem_ is we're not sure at what point in time she was taken from our world,” Zidane explained, turning to the treasure hunter. When Locke cocked an eyebrow, the thief shrugged. “Or who summoned her.”

Garnet bit at her lip, trying to find the words to explain the situation as delicately as possible, “There is... a very distinct possibility that Beatrix will not view us as friends when we encounter her.”

Edge knelt at the dragon corpse's side, running a finger along the edge of the wound. “You saying she could be an agent of Spiritus then? Like Kuja or Ultimecia?” The prince of Eblan let out an impressed whistle. “I can see why the monkey king's all riled up. Is there any way we can get her to, you know,  _not_ kill us, even if you're right and she  _is_ working with Spiritus?”

“Beatrix is a knight of Alexandria, like Steiner,” Zidane replied, crossing his arms at Edge's nickname as the ninja prince stood, “She'd never hurt Dagger, no matter what; it was her desire to protect Dagger that made her switch sides in the first place.” The thief paused, and he coughed into his hand, “I mean, switch sides to _our_ side.”

“A traitor only to villains?” Locke asked, “Sounds like she and Celes would have something to bond over.” Everyone turned to Celes's boyfriend, and the treasure hunter suddenly realized what he had said, “Uh. Don't tell her I said that, okay?”

Zidane rolled his eyes and continued, “The point is, we should probably stick Dagger in whatever group is most likely to get her all riled up. Not even Steiner's going to stop her if she's on a rampage; she was  _quite_ ready to put him into the ground when he tried stopping Queen Brahne from-” Garnet whipped her head up, and Zidane lifted his hands in surrender, “-You get the idea. Yo Dag, can you handle watching over Vivi?”

The four were beginning to meander back to the rest of the group as the princess placed her hands on her hips. “Zidane, please. You know that Vivi of all people doesn't need to be watched over like a child.”

“True, true, but think about it this way. When she encountered us, it was me, Vivi and Freya getting her all riled up. She'll probably stay her hand _unless_ it's one of us she encounters. Now, Vivi's a smart kid; he'll back off and go get help if she attacked him.”

“Wait wait wait,” Edge interrupted, hopping in front of the rambling thief, “Are you saying this Beatrix lady would _attack a kid_ unprovoked?”

Zidane paused for a moment, thinking about what that implied, especially with Garnet's face turning more and more pale, until he finally shook his head. “Not unprovoked, no. But she'd definitely try to intimidate him into giving our whereabouts. Besides, it's not Vivi I'm worried about, per se.” The thief looked up, his face serious. “It's Vivi's new best friend.”

_That_ caught Locke's attention, and Edge froze. “Palom.” The little kid that Cecil was so attached to. He and Vivi were nearly the same age, and both black mages. The two rarely went anywhere separately anymore, despite Palom's insistence that he didn't need anyone. The little kid was also brave to the point of stupidity, however, so that meant: “Vivi might run, but Palom won't, and they've been attached at the hip lately.”

“Of all of the people Beatrix _might_ attack, it would be a kid whose bark was worse than his bite, and you _know_ Palom won't let her intimidate his best friend.” Zidane turned to Garnet as they caught up with Laguna and Barret. “Watch out for Vivi and Palom, Dagger. At least until this whole Beatrix thing is put to rest.”

Garnet almost winced when she heard the tell-tale sound of clanking armor. “What's this I hear about Beatrix!?” Adelbert Steiner called out, and Zidane froze, suddenly forgetting one important piece of the puzzle, and that was a certain Alexandrian general's certain loud-mouthed boyfriend. “What news did you bring from your scouting mission, Zidane?” The captain looked around at the four, his frown creasing further, “...Your scouting mission that you brought  _her majesty_ along for without  _consulting me_ on the matter!? What if something happened and I wasn't there to make sure she was safe!?”

Locke suddenly called out for Terra and jogged off, and Edge shouted after Fujin and rushed after her despite her clear attempts to ignore him, leaving Zidane alone to get verbally berated by the Knight of Pluto. Great, just great. The thief rubbed at his forehead and drowned out the angry announcements...

Well, at least he wasn't whining at  _Garnet..._

\---

“Don't give up!” the Onion Knight cried as the red dragon bore down on the scouting party that consisted of he, Yuna and Hope. “We'll win this if we work together!”

“Got your back!” Hope called, putting up a Shell as Yuna cheered the knight on, and the young man charged forward...

...only to get the business end of the dragon's tail, which slammed into him like a sledgehammer, sending the Onion Knight sprawling out on the floor. Yuna let out a shout and rushed to the knight's side as Hope did his best to shield the rest of the party from the dragon's fire breath.

“Stand down, beast!!” an unfamiliar voice shouted, and a woman, all passion and fire, practically flew forward, her sword surrounded with the crackling of ozone. For a confusing moment, Yuna considered that perhaps Lightning had found them, if not for the fact that the woman had shockingly red hair. With an expert attack, the newcomer sliced straight through the dragon's abdomen, her Thunder Slash tearing straight through the sinew like a knife through warm butter, and the monster roared in rage.

The Onion Knight was there just then, sending out a blizzard combo and finishing it up by slicing through the dragon, dropping it instantly.

As the group recuperated and checked each other for wounds, the newcomer sheathed her sword with a “hmph”, and she turned to Cosmos's chosen warriors. “Are you safe?” she asked.

The Onion Knight sheathed his own sword as Hope stared, unsure what to do about the stranger in their midst. He didn't recognize her and the last thing he wanted to do was give any information to a potential enemy.

...Yuna, on the other hand, had no reservations, and she took a step forward with a bow. “We are- we are fine, ma'am. My name is Yuna, and you are...?”

The woman gave a curt incline of her head before regarding the three amiably. “You may call me General Beatrix of Alexandria, Ms. Yuna,” the warrior said, “I am afraid I'm a... a little lost. Perhaps you're the one who can point me back towards-”

She halted immediately as another person joined the four. Freya Crescent, Burmecian Dragoon, landed on the grass in the forest's clearing, and she locked onto Beatrix's eye. The two froze as they watched each other, and the air between them seemed to cool significantly, enough that Yuna moved slightly to stand next to Hope and the Onion Knight, just in case a fight broke out.

...Finally, Beatrix let out a relieved sigh. “Wonderful, a familiar face. It's been quite a bit since I've encountered someone in this place.” The woman looked around the forest, a confused frown on her face, before she turned back to the Burmecian. “Lady Freya, perhaps you could assist me in finding my way back to Alexandria. I seemed to have... gotten lost.”

Hope cocked an eyebrow; did Materia not speak to this Beatrix lady? She was usually in the habit of at least letting her chosen warriors know what was going on before sending them out into the fray, at least nowadays. He didn't say a word about it, however; the last thing he wanted was to give anything away, so he narrowed his eyes and eyed Freya, who nodded back at the teenager before turning to the general. “You aren't lost, General Beatrix. Well, I suppose you are, but it's not your fault, for you see...”

\---

Garnet and Lyse spoke to each other as the monk let Porom swing on her arm, pointedly trying to ignore Steiner's shouting a little ways away. The young princess turned to look at Zidane, who was in the process of rolling his eyes, and Lyse cocked her head as she followed her friend's gaze. “You ever try to tell him that you don't want him to watch over you like that...?”

Garnet shrugged in reply. “He just says he can't follow  _that_ order, of course. I feel sorry for Zidane; I keep trying to tell Steiner that it was my idea to go off, but he won't stop hounding him...”

Porom dropped from Lyse's arm and put her hands on her hips. “Usually, I have to tell Palom when he gets out of line, but I wonder if Mister Steiner isn't being too angry all the time. Is there any way to make him not so angry at everything...?”

All eyes were on the rustling trees as Freya returned to the clearing and announced her arrival. “The scouting party hit a snag, but they're on their way back right now,” she called out, her job officially complete. She jogged up next to Zidane and leaned down against the thief's ear. “There's another thing... we found someone else in the forest.” She glanced in Steiner's direction, making the captain frown in confusion.

Zidane noted Freya's glance, and the young man's smirk was coy. “Oho! Sounds like our mystery woman was picked up!” he raised his voice, just enough for Garnet to hear. Zidane was happy for the interruption, and the tailed thief was off, trotting over to the Onion Knight's side as the returning scouting party arrived with a familiar woman in tow.

Steiner followed angrily, clanking after Zidane with a frown. “Come back here, you miscreant! I was  _speaking_ to you, Zidane, and I'm not finished with... you...” The captain halted as a woman came out of the forest and into the clearing, and both Beatrix and Steiner stared at each other, their eyes causing both to freeze in their tracks.

Garnet smiled as she approached with Porom in tow. “I think you just found your answer, Porom,” the princess explained knowingly.

The tiny white mage clutched her heart and crooned as Steiner took a step forward to give her the deference she deserved. “The way they look at each other is so romantic!” the little girl giggled. Her words caused the spell between the knights to be broken, and Beatrix looked away, letting out a breath of relief when she laid her eye on the princess.

“Your highness, it is good to see that you're safe. Freya filled me in; I must admit, I didn't want to believe this whole Materia thing was anything more than a dream, but this cannot be a dream if you are all here.” ...She leaned forward to conspiratorially whisper: “Besides, I don't think even in my fevered imagination could I think up the crazy clothing that young Hope is wearing.”

Garnet giggled in reply, happy that the teenager had made himself scarce to avoid having to look at two people making googly eyes at each other. “Wait until you see Tidus's outfit. I'd think I was going insane.”

Beatrix's laugh was clear as she straightened up and turned back to Steiner. “Well, I am happy to see that you're doing well. May I... take a moment of respite, however? I've been wandering for a while, and I wish to rest my legs as long as we're safe here.”

“We have people on watch at all moments, Beatrix! There is no need to worry!” the captain proclaimed, hands on his hips. “The princess shall not come to harm as long as we're around to protect her!”

“I was hoping for a bit of respite with _you_ as well, captain,” Beatrix intoned, causing Steiner to pause. The general gave a soft smile before beckoning for him. “Call it a 'debriefing session'. There's plenty of things I need catching up on, after all.”

Zidane catcalled as Beatrix walked off, and Steiner sputtered as he whirled around to glare pointedly at the thief. “I'm not finished with you, Zidane! Do not think you are getting off without a proper punishment!” he shouted just before turning back around and clanking after the general.

The tailed teen smirked widely, his tail flicking. “That's what _she_ said,” he chuckled, his mind completely somewhere else. He took his place at Garnet's side as the princess watched her entourage move to convene together, and her friend gave her a catlike smile. “Please tell me I can use this to my advantage.” Finally, he wouldn't get yelled at all the time.

Unfortunately, the princess turned back to her friend with a knowing smirk. “You most certainly  _cannot_ use this to your advantage,” she replied, despite the smile playing on her lips.

Zidane pouted, and Garnet gave a bright laugh. It was scary, arriving in this new world without knowing how they were going to get back, but now, with all of her friends by her side, it was slowly getting better by the day.


End file.
